When I was in L.A. a few weeks ago I stopped by to see the gents from Baxter of California at their then unfinished barber shop on LaCienega. Well today the veil has been lifted, and the new spot dubbed Baxter Finley, Barber & Shop, looks even better than I had anticipated. It is opening officially tomorrow, if you want to stop in for L.A.’s newest (and possibly best?) wet shave.
Baxter Finley, Barber & Shop | 515 N. LaCienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA.
Many have tried and many have failed. Finally there is a cool blog about beards, moustaches, shaving, barber shops and all of that good stuff. The site called Definitive Beards, is a wood-panel lined men’s club curated by Mr. David Coggins, the gent behind the exquisite Exit Lines. The blog is a celebration of the battle with facial hair and consists of well chosen photos scrolling down the center with grooming resources on the right. What else does a guy need? Maybe Mr. Coggins will start a weapons blog next. Definitive Beards
Grooming is a topic that doesn’t get a lot of play around these parts. A few weeks ago the Morning Regimen post elicited a terrific, yet unexpected discussion on shaving. Working to focus more on the subject, I thought it prudent to highlight one of my most-liked skincare and shaving brands, Baxter of California. The company was founded out of necessity (and a void in the men’s skincare market), by Baxter Finley in 1966 becoming the first American men’s grooming company. Fast forward to the year two-thousand when Mr. Finley — who was looking to retire — placed the controls in the capable hands of his family friend and neighbor Jean-Pierre Mastey. Since taking over Jean-Pierre has done an excellent job of streamlining and re-positioning the brand and it now sits as one of the premier players in the space. I had a chance to talk to Mr. Mastey and shed some light on the good things happening at Baxter. Read our Q&A after the jump…
I believe in taking care of myself, with a balanced diet and a rigiorus excercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack, I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water activated gel-cleanser. Then a honey-almond body scrub, and on the face, an exfoliating gel-scrub.
